Hotel Group Business Faces Headwinds

By BTE

2019-05-13T14:08:20+00:00

US hotels may face a more difficult group business environment as booking pace is predicted to slow across year-over-year over the next 24-month period. The Cvent Group Business Outlook that looks at group booking activity through the Cvent Supplier Network shows group business demand is relatively flat while supply is increasing.

“While we saw a significant increase in awarded request for proposal activity at the end of 2018, the increase in activity was likely impacted by the desire to finalize group contracts before commission policy changes made by a number of large hotel chains went into effect this year,” said Jeffrey Emenecker, senior director of analytics at Cvent. “As we look at the next two years, our sourcing data shows an overall decline in group occupancy in the US market.”

Awarded RFP activity decreased in Q1. The report notes this downturn was expected as event professionals navigate the new commission policy changes that went into effect this year. However the average size of group room block, and peak room nights are both up significantly (4 percent).